Fire closed much-loved Tacoma restaurants. Here’s how it started, when they’ll be back
Three weeks after a fire forced the closure of Dirty Oscar’s Annex and North China Garden on Tacoma’s Sixth Avenue, staff are still assessing damage. Fire officials said Thursday that the blaze was accidental.
Neither restaurant has a hard date set for reopening. General manager and controller Carleen Preble said she’s praying Dirty Oscar’s will be back slinging mimosas and serving up a few new menu items Aug. 1. An inspector is coming Monday to see if electrical components in the ceilings were damaged by smoke.
“If not, they pull out the insulation, they seal all the wood for smoke, they put new insulation and we get rolling,” Preble said. “If there’s any damage to anything else up there, then it has to be assessed on what we’re doing.”
Next door, North China Garden will take longer to reopen. Tacoma Fire Department spokesperson Joe Meinecke said an investigation found the fire began in that restaurant’s kitchen. He said a stove burner was likely left on, igniting materials left on top of it.
The fire destroyed the restaurant’s kitchen, co-owner Jenny Yee previously told The News Tribune. She and her husband Kwan Yee own both Dirty Oscar’s and North China Garden, 2309 and 2303 6th Ave. Preble said it could be a year before North China Garden reopens.
Food delivery apps such as UberEats and Grubhub keep sending people to the building, Preble said, but it’s closed. Flames charred the back wall of the building and damaged a house on Trafton Street. Dirty Oscar’s shares an adjoining wall with North China Garden, but Preble said it was untouched by fire or water damage.
“It’s just the damn smoke in the attic,” Preble said.
She’s appreciative of customers’ support. Preble said one day she took nearly 100 calls from people asking how they could help, and she’s been directing them to Dirty Oscar’s secondary location in Sumner, Mini Oscar’s Annex. The sister restaurant plans to have a presence in front of DOA at next month’s Art on the Ave, a food festival that closes down a portion of Sixth Avenue for local art, music and food. Without a working kitchen, Preble said they won’t have DOA food, but they might set up some grills.
“When we can announce a grand opening, people are going to be there to help, and they’re calling like crazy,” Preble said. “It’s really been great.”
This story was originally published June 17, 2023 at 7:05 AM.
